A Perfect Tie!
by DeeDeeHDG
Summary: Phryne Fisher seems to be fascinated with Jack's ties, or is it something else? He determines to figure out just what, using his powers of observation and deduction, while her attentions provide continual distraction.
1. Chapter 1

**A Perfect Tie - Chapter 1**

Driving to Queenscliff took slightly less than the 3 hours he'd estimated. After a day full of detested paperwork and a bit of a drive, Jack was hungry and tired but the anticipation of seeing Phryne was a definite boost to his system. He parked in front of the McNaster home, stepping out of the car he took a moment to look at his reflection in the car window, and to straighten the tie he'd loosened while driving.

It was new, an unusual purchase to make for himself. He'd gotten used to making due with ties he received as gifts for Christmas and his birthday. Buying one on his own was a novelty, a smile lighting his eyes and slightly lifting the corners of his mouth as he thought of his inspiration. Miss Phryne Fisher seemed to have a fascination for his ties. She rarely seemed to miss an opportunity to stand close, sometimes too close, and to straighten an obviously already straight and perfectly tied knot.

A new tie was just his latest action in the clandestine game he's been playing with Phryne, although he was almost sure that she didn't even realize how he has been baiting her.

/=/=/=/=/=/=/=/

The first time she'd stood close, looked up at him through her impossibly long lashes and set her hands lightly at his throat, he'd barely been able to stifle his gulp of surprise. He'd frozen, held his breath unconsciously and somehow survived the light touches that brought an aroused awareness crowding into his thoughts. She'd brushed her fingertips across the knot, smoothing his shirt collar and lingering slightly before falling away.

The deep breath that followed when he could move again almost overshadowed the small sigh he thought he'd heard as she turned away and bounced right back into discussing a case. She'd only touched his collar and tie, yet it had left heat as if she'd trailed her fingers over his bare skin.

Convinced that he'd let his imagination run away with him, Jack had chalked it all up to unsatisfied yearnings. At least, he had until it happened again. This time he was able to breathe, although not evenly, her delicious perfume having an even greater effect than usual on his senses due to her nearness.

She'd seemed to not realize what she was doing, as if it were totally natural for her to step in so close to him. He'd lifted his head to look over hers, trying to avoid eye contact, but soon found out what a mistake that was. His reaction to her touch had held him enthralled, her voice rushing on, hypothesizing about suspects and motives, all the while she was driving him to distraction. Phryne's heady scent had filled his nostrils, her hands soft at his collar, her brushing proximity in front of him that would bring her full against him with the slightest effort.

His arms had been practically locked in place with his hands clenching to avoid reaching to pull her softness against the hard planes of his chest. Stroking his tie with a caress that started at the knot and slowly brushed down the visible length until it disappeared beneath his waistcoat, Phryne seemed to become aware of where her hand had strayed, having taken his center of attention down with it.

Quickly she'd swung away from him, releasing his thoughts back to a semblance of normalcy. He recovered himself more quickly this time. Jack thought Phryne had lost her own train of thought by the pause and slight stammer she gave as she turned away. More wishful thinking on his part!

What serious interest could Miss Fisher have for a plodding Detective Inspector? How many times had he witnessed her touching people she knew? Too many to count, Phryne was a very tactile woman.

But, something was going on, he just didn't know what, or at least wouldn't admit what, even to himself. Jack filed away every action and reaction to dissect later. He needed to figure out just what she was up to!

Over the next few cases they worked on together Jack did what he was so very good at, observing details most people missed. And...even further...experimenting to test his assumptions. After all, why not apply the scientific method to this? He had a hypothesis, it was based on minimal information admittedly, so Jack began to create tests and collect data to support or disprove his premise. Was Phryne touching him as part of her natural urge to connect with her circle of family and close friends? Or...was her fascination with his ties something more. _(Jack dared not define just what "more" was, he'd figure that one out later.)_

Somewhere in the next few weeks he'd stopped thinking in terms of tests and started thinking of it as a game. Jack couldn't be sure if Phryne had suspicions that he was up to something. At first, he'd made sure that every time he saw her that his tie and collar were perfectly situated. He diligently observed and mentally catalogued her actions with him, and with the other men of her acquaintance.

Phryne touched, she touched quite often. At times her hands reminded him of a butterfly, flitting from place to place, never really settling in any one place for long. She grasped hands, linked arms, occasionally placed a hand on an upper arm or touching a cheek. Jack had even observed her leaning into the side of a man she was flirting with. Through all this observation of Phryne with others he also dared to catalogue her actions with him. To his surprise Jack was becoming convinced of a difference in her actions towards him. He would even go so far as to think a marked difference. With that dawning realization his studies took on a whole new meaning. To himself, Jack called it a game, knowing that using that lighthearted term even to himself was denying how much it really meant to him.

Phryne treated him differently than the other men in her life, at least that he was aware of. For one thing, their relationship had reached nearly a year. Historically her flings rarely lasted longer than a few hours, usually spent in her boudoir he conceded, but nevertheless he'd outlasted them all. Other than Rene' in Paris he'd never heard her mention any lasting relationship.

Jack could never really hope to attain any level of intimacy with Phryne, his mind kept saying this but his heart never listened. It beat with a seemingly special rhythm whenever she was near. Deeper, stronger, almost thrusting itself towards her, straining to be cupped in her hands, held and caressed with an answering passion.

Jack longed for her questing fingers to stray above his collar taking the path he'd seen her eyes take, testing the warmth and sensitivity of his skin. Dared to long for her lips to follow, knowing it would never happen but longing for it still. He was slowly driving himself crazy with intimate imaginings of Phryne Fisher.

The game had become his way of coping with his growing desires. The first time he'd tested her attention to his tie still brought a smile to his eyes. He had heard Phryne's voice asking Collins if he was in his office, breezing through to his door barely pausing for the constable's reply. Jack had but a moment to push his tie slightly askew before she waltzed in, firing comments at him about Mac's findings upon examining their latest murder victim.

Leaning back in his chair, elbows on the chair arms with his fingers steepled in front of him, Jack watched Phryne perch at her usual spot on the side of his desk. As they talked Jack watched her eyes trying to define what was out of place, a hint of a furrow appearing between her ached brows. Their conversation held no indication that she was distracted, he was pleased that he had somehow presented a very calm facade as her puzzled eyes roamed over his person.

Jack rose from his chair as they agreed to meet at the crime scene later that day. Phryne hopped off his desk breezily tossing her "See you later Jack!" over her shoulder on her way out his door, the furrow gone from her brow and a subtle pleased smile in its place. Jack sat down, an answering smile twitching at his lips. His thoughts were jumbled but pleased as his hand reached up to confirm his now perfectly straight tie.


	2. Chapter 2

Author's Note: I've always wondered just how Phryne got Jack up to her room in "Dead Man's Chest". Perhaps it went something like this?

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

 **The Perfect Tie - Chapter Two**

How had she missed it? Phryne was still mentally kicking herself for not catching on sooner. Jack has been setting her up! Subtly using her own wiles against her, and it had taken her all these months to catch on.

The look in Jack's eyes is what finally got her attention, a pleased with himself look that included the slightest smile to his lips. She's been assuming that he was immune to her charms, a safe sort of "favorite uncle" type that she could exercise her skills on safely. How wrong she'd been about that!

Phryne finally took a much overdue long look at herself, and at Jack, and acknowledged that she had totally missed what had been developing beneath both of their public persona. Wrapped up in the excitement of solving crimes and enjoying for the first time in her life communicating with someone who's mind worked at the same speed as her own, Phryne had overlooked the obvious. The intense attraction to that mind by her own!

Once this revelation was made, Phryne was finding it difficult to get it out of her mind. It was always there, simmering below her active thoughts, oddly enough putting a small happy smile on her face whenever she allowed it to bubble to the surface. Her realization of his subtle actions with his ties, and her previously subconscious reactions to them, instigated a deeper appreciation of the Inspector, one that went beyond the investigative work they both loved to a more personal level.

Curled up on the settee in her guest room at the McNaster home in Queenscliff, Phryne tried to tamp down the anticipation distracting her thoughts from her developing cases. She really shouldn't be happy about the dead man they found on the beach that day, or the missing Johnson couple, or the missing coin collection, or whatever else was disrupting this household lately, but the possibility of murder had Jack on his way to her and she just couldn't find fault with that.

It has been a few weeks since they'd worked on a case together. Aunt P browbeating her into driving them to Queenscliff for a holiday Phryne had initially resisted. Mrs. McNaster was a long time friend of Aunt P's and when Prudence told Phryne about the worrying dreams she's been having about Hilly, Phryne agreed to go on the visit with her aunt. With Jane and Dot along it had been a merry drive to the resort.

Phryne brushed aside the lace curtain at her window to look for the inspectors arrival, and then dropped it abruptly. Annoyed with herself for acting like a teenager waiting for her first beau, she went looking for Mr. B instead. She knew he would be the one to smuggle champagne into her room without setting this "temperance" household on its ear!

A few minutes later she was on the porch watching the colors of a beautiful sunset fade as twilight approached. She didn't need to look to confirm that the car that drove up and parked at the front curb was Jack. She knew it was him.

When Jack didn't immediately get out of his car she did turn towards the street. He was sitting at the wheel, one hand resting on it, his long fingers tapping in an odd rhythm. Finally stepping out, he used his reflection in the car window to place his hat and straighten his tie, she watched him pause and smile as he gave it a last adjustment. Phryne also smiled, pleased that she finally caught on to Jack's game, looking forward to playing it herself.

Hands in his pockets, and with a soft whistle escaping his lips Jack quickly approached the front steps. Slowing, and then stopping just short of the top step, his low voiced "Good evening Miss Fisher" drew her out of the shadows.

"You're fifteen minutes ahead of schedule, Inspector, aren't you ashamed of breaking the speed limit to get here?"

"Not at all Miss Fisher, I left earlier than expected."

"Ah, well that explains your early arrival, but not your hasty departure. You must've left immediately after we spoke." Phryne continued to move towards Jack as he stood still on the steps, one foot resting on the porch, his hand braced on its knee.

"If I'd known you would respond so quickly to my request I would have asked you to follow me well before this."

She was now closely in front of Jack, the scent of her perfume no longer the light tease he sensed from the walk. Now the full affect was right in front of him along with the beauty of Miss Fisher herself.

"Hello Jack" she softly spoke, eyes meeting his in the dim light, hoping she wasn't imagining the welcoming expression in his gaze.

His low "Phryne" sent ripples through her, leaving her feeling as if he had touched her in welcome. It wasn't often he used her name, and Jack using it now was not lost on her.

Desire was there, evident to her now that she was looking for it, what caught her breath was the quiet joy apparent as his gaze steadily remained locked with hers. Phryne took a half step closer to Jack, invading his space as he stood at the top step, stillness itself as she stepped to the edge of the porch. The silk of her white dress brushed against the inside of his knee, his only reaction expressed in his eyes. She felt the beading grip briefly against his pant leg, almost disguising the tug of Jack's fingers releasing the snag.

"New?" Jack murmured. Unable to draw her eyes away from his fingers rubbing the material between his fingers, her tiny nod confirmed what his eyes had already told him. Tilting his head he took in the shimmer of the dress against the bared beauty of her skin in the fading evening light. The appreciation in his eyes not needing to be expressed in words. "Perfect" was all he said, although she wasn't sure if he meant the dress since his look was quite definitely caressing her face.

Phryne caught her breath, skin tingling as if touched by his fingers, his look now trailing across her collarbone. She lifted her hand to deftly brush his tie, following the shape of the knot at his collar. "New?" She whispered her query, also knowing the answer.

Jack swallowed before answering, barely able to mumble a low "Yes" as her knuckles contacted the skin of his throat. Frozen in place by her nearness, burning at each singeing touch of her dress and feathering scorch of her fingers, Jack thought to himself that every cent spent on the new tie was worth every scent and sense of Phryne nearly in his arms.

"Jack" she uttered softly with a mischievous grin "Can I entice you into my parlor? I have something I'd very much like to share with you." The breathy emphasis on the last word seemingly strangling his throat wrapped in its silky new tie. Thoughts of parlors, spiders, and captive flies flew through his thoughts, making him wonder if following her was such a good idea.

"And that would be?" he managed to ask.

Phryne quickly stepped back and spun away from him, her movement setting off sparks in the dim light from her swirling beaded skirt, tossing over her shoulder her answer of "You'll just have to come and see!"

At the door she stopped, leaning back against it with her hand turning the knob behind her back. Her blue eyes burned a path down to his throat and then back up to meet his as she gaily spoke...

"By the way, Jack, that really is a perfect tie!"


	3. Chapter 3

These scenes take place during"Deadweight" S2E4.

Filling in a few of the blanks with what I imagine may have taken place!

Enjoy!

* * *

Phryne's breath rushed out of her lungs as strong hands wrapped around her waist and slowly lifted her down to the ground. They steadied her lightly, allowing her to turn in their grasp. Losing herself in an admiring pair of dark eyes, she barely heard him as he spoke to her. He pressed tickets for the fight into her hand, along with a suggestion none to subtle that they meet later. Giorgios the Greek was darkly handsome, and his eyes and smile promised things to which Phryne's thoughts urged her to respond.

Phryne felt her flirting instincts respond to his offer to let her see " more" of him, and her eyes appreciatively wandered down his barely concealed form as he sauntered away. But there was something missing, she could tell that it would be superficial, not that that isn't what she indulged in many times before but somehow this time felt different.

Turning swiftly on her heel, she landed full force against the man standing quietly behind her. She realized now that she'd sensed him near, but hadn't realized just how near! Jack! Startled, she felt frozen in place, pressed against his chest by the force of her turn for a moment, she couldn't seem to move away. Quickly she took a step back, Phryne knew he was giving her his best policeman's stare without even looking up to meet his eyes. Finally drawing in a quick breath she dodged around the immovable Inspector, calling back that he should look on the corner of one the green tents for the knife, their suspected murder weapon.

She made a mad dash around the corner of another tent, stopping to lean against a bench for a moment, finally catching her breath. Phryne could feel the detective's imprint along her body, still experiencing the sparks set off by their brief contact from her breast to her thighs. Lifting her hands to cheeks slightly flushed, amazed that her body was reacting as it was.  
After all the liaisons over all the years, the many men she'd thoroughly enjoyed having sex with, how could she be so flustered by what was a fleetingly casual contact? She hadn't even responded like this to Giorgios holding her in his arms moments before.

Taking another deep breath, checking her hat and straightening her shoulders, Phryne strode away telling herself how ridiculous she was acting and to get her thoughts under control. Whatever this aberration had been she was not going to dwell on it.  
Unfortunately, she knew full well she was only fooling herself. She had Jack Robinson in her blood, and she knew it would be next to impossible to get him out. Not that she'd really tried. She rather liked him there!

* * *

A bit later that day Phryne parked her Hispano near Big Arthur's tents, wandering towards the shore as she waited for the Inspector to arrive. Jack wanted to pick up Freckles Delahunty for questioning, and of course Phryne wanted to be there.

She approached the ice cream man that Dot had spoken to earlier, and bought a cone from him hoping to coax some more information from him, o"nly to have the man clam up when the Inspector pulled up. No mistaking his police car, or the purposeful walk of a man confident in himself, and in his position as a senior member of the constabulary.

Phryne's gaze may have been on his face, but she was soaking in the full effects of Jack Robinson striding towards her. Remembering past conversations, she knew that if Jack had any idea of his appeal, he would be the one considered lethal. He turned more than his fair share of heads as he approached her across the park, but was oblivious to it all. Hands in his coat pockets, hat tilted just so to shade his hazel eyes, the tips of his lips just hinting at a smile as he glanced at the cone in her hand, asking "Ice cream Miss Fisher? Re-living a childhood memory?"

"No, Inspector, just fulfilling another of my childhood dreams!"

Offering her his arm, he lead them towards the rotunda that overlooked the beach. Remembering her reaction to colliding with him that morning, Phryne felt the subtle hum of excitement again as he held her hand snugly against his side.

" Aren't you here to look for Freckles?" She asked, his hand now at her elbow, steady as they moved in step up to the shaded platform. At the top Jack leaned casually against a pillar, his grasp still at her elbow, swinging her in to face him. The air lifted her scarf to brush against his chest, her hands longing to follow its path. Blue eyes softly caught by his smiling hazel gaze, her hand lifted unconsciously to trace the shape of his ear, drift down his neck to stop at his crisp collar. Tingling fingertips resting on his tie, she gently tugged it straight.

Releasing her elbow so she could step back, gaining the breathing space she found she desperately needed, he looked pointedly at her melting ice cream, calmly stating "Just taking a break, enjoying the view, perhaps thinking of going fishing."

"Really Inspector?"she laughed as she licked the nearly dripping cone. "And how do you figure that?"

"Nothing better than an afternoon by the seaside" Jack smiled enigmatically.

Slightly puzzled, she turned away, gaily replying "Except for a thrilling ride on the Scenic Railway. Dot refuses to come with me."

"I don't blame her." He smoothly answered, watching her from his post as she taunted him further.

"Dont tell me you're scared too!"

Deceptively calm, he answered her with "Is that a challenge?" Tilting his head, allowing the smile in his eyes to finally reach his lips.

"If it makes it more enticing?" Phryne threw back at him with her usual coquettish smirk.

From below a nasty voice calls out "Missus that's my spot".

Turning in disbelief, Phryne glared down at the speaker. Jack's smile disappears as he finally steps away from the pillar, re-acquiring his policeman's persona he firmly states "Freckles Delahunty. Inspector Jack Robinson. I think it's time we had a chat."

As he starts for the steps, he quickly turned back to her. With devilish mischief in his eyes that she'd not seen before, he tosses back at her, "Thank you for going fishing with me this afternoon Miss Fisher, especially as you were my bait!"

Thoroughly enjoying the wide eyes and slight gasp she gave as Phryne realizes what he'd done, he turns and practically skips down the steps. For once, Jack thought, he'd been the one to get in the last word! And did it ever feel good!


End file.
